UPDATE 1-Ecuador economy grew 3.3 pct in Q2 in sign of recovery

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

(Adds details on growth, projections, context)

By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Ecuador’s economy expanded 3.3 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period of 2016, its central bank said on Friday, a sign that the Andean country’s bruised economy is recovering.

The OPEC member has suffered heavily from a fall in oil prices and a major earthquake last year, when the economy shrank 1.5 percent, the first fall in a decade.

Authorities have predicted growth of 0.7 percent in 2017 and 1.6 percent next year.

Growth in the second quarter was propelled by household consumption, financial services, transport, and communications, the central bank said.

“This means that for three quarters in a row we’ve had growth,” bank head Veronica Artola told a press conference.

“The economy was showing signs of permanent recovery little by little, and that is visible and ratified in the (second) quarter,” she added.

The bank also adjusted first quarter growth to 2.2 percent from a previously reported rate of 2.6 percent. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Alistair Bell)